A business plan is a document that allows a developer or entrepreneur to write down his or her ideas. Before embarking on a project, it is essential for the entrepreneur to show that he has mastered his subject. The business plan therefore describes in detail all the aspects necessary for the success of a project or the launch of a business.
An entrepreneur draws in his head a project that he wants to realize. It can be the creation of a company, the launch of a new product, or any other business opportunity. Often, the entrepreneur wishes to associate technical and financial partners, and therefore investors and technicians to his project. This is where the business plan comes in, serving as a support to convince potential future partners of the project. This document is a plea indicating to the interested parties that the project is indeed viable. On the other hand, the business plan also serves the entrepreneur himself as a roadmap. Indeed, the plan contains the deployment strategy of the project and all the key indicators that will serve as a reference.
A business plan must be written in relation to the project to be supported, but also to the reader for whom it is intended. It can be for example a business angel or a bank in the case of a search for financing. The business plan must therefore be personalised and not simply copied from existing documents. But generally speaking, the body of a business plan is made up of 06 major parts, namely :
For the performance of the business plan, each of these parts must be written with the utmost care, in the most complete way possible and with tangible supporting data.
While the body of the business plan is the most developed part, the executive summary and annexes must also be carefully drafted. The executive summary is placed in the very first part of the business plan. Very often, it is the page that is read first by the recipient of the business plan. The summary must therefore be clear and persuasive. Investors sometimes reject projects without reading the business plan, even if the project has great potential, simply because the summary is not convincing. The same applies to the annexes, which should serve the interest of the whole document by providing concrete and complete facts and figures to convince.
Becoming a franchisee removes the need to create a brand, establish systems and processes, and train staff, which can attract more than one. However, it also removes some of the autonomy and flexibility that a business owner might enjoy. In any case, you will find other advantages of this alternative to individual entrepreneurship in the following lines.
When you open a franchise, you are buying a business network that has already figured out how to succeed. You will benefit from this success in a number of ways, and the network will benefit as well. Your success is their success too.
So, if you find yourself in trouble or need a solution to a specific problem, there are many experienced people who will be happy to help you. Also, if the brand is growing, they probably already understand several important things: the target market, employee management, budgeting, the right marketing strategy and more.
This is one of the most significant advantages of this solution, provided that you consult the franchise directory beforehand, in order to choose the right sector. The goal of any business is to create a brand that people recognize immediately.
When consumers know what to expect, they are more likely to do business with you. Reaching this level, however, can be an arduous and costly task when you are fully responsible for your own marketing and advertising. However, when you are backed up by a large retailer, it’s all done for you.
Some franchisors may require you to have business experience or a business degree, but this is usually not the case. Most brands provide the training required to run the business to their standards, and most initiatives, marketing campaigns, practice updates, new products and services come from the top.
As a result, you will learn most of the things you need to know and most critical business decisions will be made on your behalf. While this does not guarantee success, it does make it more likely. According to many studies, 85% of independent businesses fail, compared to only 10% of new franchises.
Again, this makes sense considering that brands looking to grow have probably already found the formula for success. By being part of that formula rather than trying to find it on your own, you are giving yourself a good start.
In franchising, as in other areas, it is important to be well prepared before launching your business. Therefore, the following steps must be taken to become a franchisee.
Before opening a franchise, it is necessary to make a specific assessment of its aptitudes, motivations and budget. This is a demanding job that requires a certain technical and financial capacity. Your personal fund must be equal to one third of the total investment. Depending on your area of interest, your capital should be between 5,000 and 500,000 euros. Thus, determine the value of your assets and your personal contribution. If your resources are low, check with your bank to find out how much credit it can grant you.
You should know that becoming a franchisee takes time and energy. This is why it is important to assess your motivation and skills. This type of work sometimes involves moving away from where you live. Thus, you may be forced to organize yourself to ensure a better combination of family life and work. Finally, being a franchisee means running a business. You must have the skills to ensure the continuity of your activities.
Given your skills and financial means, are you sure about your project? You need to inform yourself about the concept you wish to develop. This will allow you to know the operating mode that suits you best. Do you need a lead to compare the available proposals? You can consult the franchise directory. Professionals working in your preferred field can also help you. You can ask them questions if you need to. BtoB shows are other solutions that allow you to meet directly with experienced network facilitators.
To create a franchise, ask two criteria of choice: the quality of the franchisor’s network and its network and the capital required. Who says evaluation of the quality of the network, says market research. Thus, you must conduct an investigation to find out the constraints, the stakes, and the level of profitability of your project. These criteria are important as they form the basis of your business plan. On this subject, once the franchisor has been found, you must set up an action plan to make the maximum profit, then set up the business.
If you have been successful in finding a franchise network, you can congratulate yourself for completing 50% of your work. Now it’s time to build your business. You need to look for its location. This step allows you to choose your collaborators and partners carefully. To do so, take into account a few things, including the visibility of the business, the neighbourhood’s traffic, the accessibility of the business, and the number of competitors.
Find out about the code of ethics that governs franchises in Europe. Finally, sign your contract while paying attention to its content, especially the mandatory information.
The franchise system can be particularly advantageous if you wish to set up your business while relying on the expertise of a national network. Indeed, this development model allows you to open a brand already well known to the public while benefiting from long-term support. But why and how to become a franchisee? Find out everything you need to know about this business model and the advantages of a franchise directory.
Opening a franchise has many advantages for entrepreneurs who wish to start a business or retrain for a new career. More reassuring than a traditional business creation, this type of project allows you to rely on the franchisor’s expertise: the franchisor transmits his know-how to you through one-off or ongoing training courses. It also supports your communication effort, by taking charge of the national coverage. Finally, you benefit from a brand image that is well known to your target audience before you even open your store. The creation of franchises therefore allows you to put all the chances on your side when you launch into entrepreneurship: but what are the different stages?
Do you want to become a franchisee? Several steps will be necessary to validate your project and then implement it. You will have to start by making an in-depth personal and professional assessment to guide your choices: what skills and resources can you put to work for your project? This assessment will help you choose an appropriate sector of activity before embarking on market research. This key document will enable you to draw up a provisional balance sheet for your franchised activity: this is the last step before choosing your future brand! Once your partner has been selected, you can concentrate on the financing plan for your project. This will enable you to choose the most suitable legal status, as well as premises that respect your budget. Don’t forget to find out about the support offered by the company: from training to the search for premises, the terms and conditions of this support can vary from one company to another.
Are you planning to open a franchise in your city or region? Nothing could be simpler with a franchise directory. A digital platform can indeed help you find your franchisor in just a few clicks, and even compare different brands. All you have to do is fill in a few selection criteria, such as your geolocation, the amount of your financial contribution or the sector of activity chosen. Depending on your answers, the directory offers you a selection of franchisors that meet your expectations. It is then up to you to compare the brands and select the one that will suit your business project!
It’s not always easy to own a business. To do so, many rules must be respected, both legislatively and morally. Thus, the acquisition of a business must be done under the supervision of a professional. You will also find here the different reasons that could lead you to take over a company, but also the different methods of acquisition that you can opt for.
The first question is what might lead you to acquire a company.
In this regard, the acquisition of a company can be felt first in the case of the search for a certain synergy. This is seen as a managerial technique that can lead to the enhancement of the company’s activities.
The search for the reorganization of the company’s activities. This is one of the most frequent reasons for mergers and acquisitions within a company. The other three essential reasons for acquiring a company are, among others, to increase your bargaining power in the value chain, to curb competition and to boost the company’s growth.
Each of these reasons is more than enough to qualify for a merger or acquisition of your business.
There are several ways to acquire a company. It should simply be noted that each of these means of acquiring a company presents a certain level of complexity.
Among the difficulties that you may encounter when acquiring a company, you must take into account the following:
The truthfulness of the facts mentioned by the seller of the business when you conclude your transfer contract;
The truthfulness of the facts mentioned by the seller of the business when you signed the contract of transfer; The speed at which your project will take shape during the transaction could turn to your disadvantage.
In this dynamic, to give you a helping hand in order to be fully ready for an acquisition, here is some advice.
When you have a complete idea of the merger-acquisition of a company, it is still important to know a little about the preparation that must be done for this purpose. Here are a few brief tips to help you prepare properly for a business acquisition!
It is essential that you prepare for this operation by having an idea of the cost that the acquisition of the business could bring you. To this end, the work must be entrusted to an expert who will be in charge of making an evaluation with a view to presenting you with an exact value for such an operation. To do this, the expert will take into account certain points such as the value of the tax, profits and depreciation.
Also as part of the preparation of your business acquisition, you must ensure that the transaction is balanced. This means that the transaction must be beneficial for you, but also for the individual who is about to sell his business to you.
When you have finally obtained each of the elements mentioned above, you can apply for a loan from a financial institution. This loan must be made on a long-term basis until it becomes profitable.
Taking over a company is not easy. It is a very good opportunity on the one hand and obstacles on the other. Therefore, before making a decision, it is necessary to properly assess the effects of taking over a company.
The takeover of a company first of all allows the business to develop more quickly compared to the creation of the company. Moreover, the SME or the VSE already has its own customers, it will simply be necessary to extend to increase them. This provision gives the buyer the opportunity to pay a salary from the start of the takeover, thus preventing the financial reductions that all entrepreneurs experience at the start of their business. Afterwards, taking over a business makes it possible to have a good future. If you set up your business from scratch, the continuity rate will be higher. This is not the case with most employers. They want a change of business because of retirement, but not because of financial concerns. However, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises, it is better to identify the thoughts that encourage the donor to sell his company.
Another advantage of taking over a company is the ease of obtaining credit. With its years of existence, the company is more likely to get loans from the bank. Indeed, this requires a study of balance sheets and accounts on the scope of past years. This study makes it possible to evaluate the credit risk approved to the company. Finally, the takeover of a company makes it possible to benefit from informed recommendations. It is possible that the liberator gives more to his successor. Since he is the founder of the company, he will indeed be able to offer the acquirer recommendations and tips that will allow him to grow richer over time.
It is commonly believed that taking over a business requires more money than setting up a company. This can be seen especially in the payment of the personal contribution made during this recovery. Most of the time, taking over a company leads to an unpleasant comparison between customers and employees. All the quality of the services and products, the relationship and the way of being will be commented on. When you take over a company in full activity, it is essential to become operational quickly.
All companies know that identifying a good candidate requires several steps. At the end of the recruiting process, the recruiter must make a single choice and sometimes there are still some very good candidates to choose from. How to proceed and what steps to follow in this case?
When a short list of candidates for a position is arrived at, the choice is usually more difficult. This means that there is not a single candidate who has stood out, but relatively many candidates who are roughly equal. In this case, the advice that can be given is to identify the personality and human side of the candidates. Often, psychotechnical tests are used upstream, at the beginning of the recruitment process. The results of these tests need to be analysed in greater depth and the candidates should be invited to an interview during which they will be questioned about their sensitivities and characters. This will also be an opportunity to assess the degree of interpersonal skills which is a fundamental criterion for a candidate to be able to join a company.
Once the psychological side and personality have been identified, another key step in the recruitment process is to confirm and assess the motivation of the candidates. Although all candidates have submitted a covering letter, it is recommended that you hear their detailed motivations. It is sometimes difficult to set out in a letter the real motivations. Always during an interview, you may discover that a candidate is so motivated to join his new position that he is ready to leave his employer as soon as possible, even immediately. The advice of recruiters is obviously that for equal skills, and for similar personalities, it is the most determined and motivated candidate who will be selected.
The last step to really appreciate a candidate in a recruitment process is to identify his/her assets and potential. The best recruiters, because of their experience, have a certain intuition to detect candidates with very high potential. Thus, to choose between several candidates, they can rely on their instinct. However, in general, the advice that can be given is to check with former employers or other people close to the candidate. In this way, the full potential could be revealed to you if this has not been made clear during the various tests and interviews. Finally, you should consider assessing each candidate’s assets, such as the proximity of their home to the workplace or their willingness to travel frequently, as this can be decisive.
Ethical products appeal to consumers because they meet social and environmental criteria related to sustainable development and ecology. On the industrial side, companies are forced to ensure decent production conditions that respect the environment and the workers and producers.
When we talk about ethical products, we spontaneously think of handicrafts or products of any kind that bear the fair trade logo. In fact, the ethical product range includes a wide variety of products of all categories from all industrial and manufacturing sectors. An ethical product can be a cosmetic that has not been subject to animal testing or a garment that has been manufactured in a factory that respects its workers, does not employ children and whose manufacturing conditions are environmentally friendly. The proliferation of ethical products is directly linked to the desire to “consume better”, to consume more healthily.
Today, companies are forced to offer ethical products because they meet new consumer expectations. The time of all-out business is over, because the fairy tale of ethical purchasing seems so beautiful. Every time we make a consumer decision and opt for an ethical product, we feel that the world really is a better place. Conversely, it also means that the well-being of the coffee farmers in Costa Rica or the seamstresses in Bangladesh depends on our ethical purchasing decision. By opting for ethical products, no human being is exploited any more, and morality in business looks good.
The consumer craze for ethical products is growing and represents a very buoyant market for companies. Ethical business is flourishing and many niche markets have not yet found a buyer. Indeed, ethics started in the food, fashion and cosmetics sectors, but it can still expand and the years to come will certainly confirm this trend. Solidarity and profitability rhyme more and more often together. Companies are more and more willing to pay more for an ethical product because they know that it will sell even better on the market. Fair trade T-shirts, fair trade socks and even fair trade roses for Valentine’s Day… Fair trade has many good years ahead of it.
Connected objects are becoming more and more essential in both private and professional environments. Homes are taking advantage of electronic gadgets to gain more comfort. Companies are using these tools to increase their productivity. This is why connected objects are undergoing a massive evolution.
A connected object is a tool that can communicate with the world in several ways. To ensure the exchange of data, the equipment uses the communication network. This ability to interact with its environment has given rise to the Internet of Things. Today, the connected object sector is experiencing unprecedented growth thanks to its ability to make users’ lives more convenient. Indeed, the simple use of a communicating gadget makes your daily life easier. For example, using a home automation system in a home greatly simplifies the management of installations (heating, ventilation, lighting, etc.). Some users appreciate the innovative aspect of these instruments that feed their fascination. And others make use of the connected objects to collect a considerable amount of data.
The connected home is enjoying significant growth. This sector is largely dominated by devices specialising in security and automation. These include cameras, thermostats, alarms and automatic roller shutters, among others. This development has encouraged many retailers to launch their business and offer electronic tools dedicated to home security. Household appliances are also very popular. In addition, there are connected accessories such as bracelets and watches. In fact, watches are the leader in the field of Wearables (or portable gadgets), which are the most widely sold connected objects. Some tools have been designed for sanitary purposes. Other devices, such as connected drones, are designed to entertain.
Despite this unprecedented development, connected objects suffer from a security problem. Indeed, these tools are considered ineffective in securing user data. This defect exposes users to the risk of cyber attacks and data piracy. Then there is the problem of centralization of information. The data collected is amassed by an organization that then uses this information for commercial purposes. The dangers of power outages and blackouts must also be pointed out. Because of these threats, smarthomes are in danger of burglary.
At the heart of a company, the data application is one of the main handles of marketing. Gaining more buyers, recruiting more customers, reducing your financing… these are all advantages offered by data.
Addressing the right message at the right time and through the right channel is the foundation of a consistent and lasting one-to-one relationship. Submerged in a steady stream of ads and offers, the prospect is curious about any proposition for the simple idea that he or she has been the center of attention of a firm. Thus, to make the consumer realize that he is considered important is to offer and provide for his daily needs. On the other hand, your data offers you a pleasant and favorable action towards your client. Then, you can make a fair reward to your customers. Besides, this is the secret of a profitable and successful business.
In order to ensure a successful action without disposition and obtain new customers or improve sales, it is also necessary to share prospect understanding. From market members to after-sales service, via customer service, each employee and each department must have a precise, in-depth knowledge of buyers and their careers. Furthermore, knowing what they want? How many do they need? What path will they take? On what basis? Have they experienced a difficulty with one of the company’s services? Then to guarantee a merged and consumed idea of the customers, this contribution will allow each actor of the company to provide the message or the service at the right timing.
With the intelligence of customer data, it is now possible to continuously characterize each transmission to speculate on a better target and increase the renewal rate. It is clear that data marketing is essential for well-targeted communication. Moreover, by analyzing the attitudes of the prospect, or by anticipating these preconceptions, one can then be likely to deliver the right message at the right time, on the thing that the customer will want and in the right quantity. A method that bears fruit in terms of contract and customer conquest, because in the future the sales process is complicated, multiple and imposes brands to express themselves with their manifestos at the right time and with the right ultimatum. It is now possible to have access to more powerful data innovation for today’s technology innovation.